KANSAS BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY-21 December
Omar Stanley Knedlik was born on 21 December 1915 in Barnes, Washington County, Kansas to Mathew G. and Edith M. (Dalrympe) Knedlik. He was a businessman and the owner of an ice cream place. Omar is best known as the inventor of the ICEE frozen drink.
Omar was the third of six children born to his parents. They were all born within a 10-year period: Norma Mattie, 1913; Winifred Rose, 1914; Omar Stanley, 1915; Norton K., 1917; Wilma A., 1919; and Virgil Matt, 1913. They were a poor family that tried to farm in Washington County.
On 3 June 1939, Omar married Doris C. Streeter in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. He served in the Army during World War II. Omar may have been an officer—Lieutenant—during his time in the service.
After the war, Omar owned several hotels in Kansas. In the late 1950s, he and Doris moved to Coffeyville, Montgomery County, Kansas where they became owners of a Dairy Queen Drive-In.
Omar’s Dairy Queen did not have a soda fountain, so he served semi-frozen bottled soft drinks. He would freeze the bottles of soda and then serve the partially frozen treat. The customers enjoyed them more than regular soda pop.
Omar began experimenting with an old ice cream machine to create a frozen treat quickly. The first machine was sold in 1960 and cost $3,000. Omar teamed up with the John E. Mitchell Company, based in Dallas, that mass produced his ICEE machines. The machines were made smaller and were leased instead of sold to convenience and grocery stores across the country.
In 1966, the 7-Eleven Company bought some of the machines and put them in their stores calling the drinks, Slurpees. Omar received royalties from 7-Eleven for 17 years until his patent expired. Each year over 7,290,000 gallons of Slurpees—enough to fill 12 Olympic-size swimming pools—are sold around the world.
There are now 32 ICEE flavors. The most popular varieties are cherry, blue raspberry, and cola. A 44-ounce Sour Patch Watermelon Slurpee contains 500 calories. A 44-ounce Dr. Pepper Slurpee contains 825 calories. The company now has 850 employees in Canada, Mexico, and the United States with over 100 service centers. Each year there are over half-billion ICEEs served in just North America, China, and the Middle East.
In 1968 and 1969, Matt was the national president of the American Drive-In Association. In 1983, he moved his family to Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri. Matt and Doris were the parents of two sons—Phillip and Ronald. Omar Knedlik died on 14 March 1989 at the age of 73 in Joplin due to kidney issues. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Coffeyville.
In that last paragraph, who is Matt and Doris? I feel like a part got omitted in the story. An amazing story at that! Thanks for sharing!
Appears to have been a brain fart on the part of the writer. It should be Omar and Doris.
Until Monday, I had not had an ICEE in a couple of decades. I forgot how sweet they can be and it will probably be another decade or so before I try another.
There used to be a bar at Union Station in DC that was filled with ICEE type machines that dispensed a plethora of frozen libations. Great way to start an evening of drunken debauchery on a warm summer evening as a young lad. I might consider another 'ICEE' in the event it came that way.
